Jonathan Rosenbaum

Jonathan Rosenbaum, born in Alabama, is an american essayist and film critic. He was the head of the film critic section for the Chicago Reader, from 1987 until 2008. He has published and edited numerous books and has contributed to some of the world’s most notable film publications, including Cahiers du Cinéma and Film Comment. He promotes the dissemination and discussion of foreign film, having strong views on the films’ distribution in the United States, expressing criticism against Hollywood and the media, for limiting the access of the public to a more diverse cinema. In 2009, he participated in the documentary For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism, directed by the critic Gerald Peary, discussing the film criticism of Manny Farber, and encouraging young people to share their film reviews on the Internet. Regarding the critic’s work, Jean-Luc Godard said “I think there is a very good film critic in the United States today, a successor of James Agee, and that is Jonathan Rosenbaum. He’s one of the best; we don’t have writers like him in France today. He’s like André Bazin”. He was also a professor at Béla Tarr’s film school, the film.factory in Sarajevo, and in several american universities.